Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Roger Withrow Invitational
Racers Place Second At Withrow Invitational
1/28/2008 6:00:00 AM | Rifle
The Murray State rifle team placed second in its annual Roger Withrow Invitational, scoring a 4604 out of a possible 4800 and finishing just five points behind tournament champion West Virginia.
The Racers tied with Ohio Valley Conference rival Jacksonville State, but took second place through the tie-breaker. It marked the third time this season that MSU had tied with Jacksonville State, and at three different venue.
Murray State had the second-best air rifle score, with a 2317 out of a possible 2400, and the third-best smallbore score, with a 2287 out of a possible 2400.
West Virginia won the 11-team tournament with an aggregate (air rifle and smallbore scores combined) of 4609. Murray State and Jacksonville State each had 4604, while Ohio State was fourth at 4513, Tennessee Tech was fifth with a 4504, Memphis-Blue scored 4470, UT Martin's Women's team had a 4378, Rose-Hulman had a 4340, Arkansas-Fort Smith had a 2063 (air rifle only), Alabama-Birmingham had a 1942 (air rifle only) and mercer had a 1903 (air rifle only).
Senior Cameron Hicks had the best individual score in the 54-shooter tournament, firing a 585 out of a possible 600 in air rifle and a 573 out of a possible 600 in smallbore for an aggregate of 1158. Hicks' air rifle score of 585 was the best in the tournament. Four of his six targets were 98 or better, including one perfect 100.
Dan Belluzzo shot a 578 in air rifle and a 577 in smallbore for an aggregate of 1155, while Kevin Witbrodt had a 574 in air rifle and a 576 in smallbore for an aggregate of 1150. Kasey Meyer shot a 580 in air rifle, while Harley Jette shot a 561 in smallbore. Belluzzo's 577 in smallbore equaled the best score in that category.
MSU rifle will next compete at the OVC Championships on Feb. 8-9 at Morehead, Ky. The Racers will then compete at an NCAA qualifier on Feb. 16 at Jacksonville, Ala., with hopes of competing in the NCAA Championships on March 14-15 at West Point, N.Y. Murray State has competed in 27 of the 28 NCAA Rifle Championships to date, taking the national team titles in 1985 and 1987.
